How to Clean Skunk Smell

When they feel threatened, skunks spray a noxious liquid that contains compounds called thiols, which humans can detect at 10 parts per billion. Humboldt State University's William Wood notes that when concentrated, this spray can cause symptoms like nausea. With our extreme sensitivity to skunk smell, it's clear that if you, your pet or your home is sprayed by a skunk, you must take immediate action to remove the odor.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fans
• Bucket
• Hydrogen peroxide
• Baking soda
• Dish soap
• Heavy-duty laundry detergent
• Ammonia
• Chlorine bleach
• Scrub brush
• Nonfoaming cleaner
• White vinegar
• Backpack garden sprayer (optional)

1. Determine the source of the skunk odor if you smell the odor in your home, garage, shed or other enclosed area a skunk can enter. If possible, remove the item the skunk sprayed and ventilate the area well by opening windows and doors and by turning on fans. If the odor lingers inside a building, change the air filters in the air conditioning units and the furnace, as skunk odor can contaminate these filters.

2. Use a solution developed by Paul Krebaum, which Stephen Vantassel, Scott Hygnstrom and Dennis Ferraro, of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension, suggest to combat odors on your skin or hair, or in a pet's fur. Pour 1 quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide into a clean bucket. To it, add ¼ cup baking soda and 1 to 2 tsp. of mild dish soap. Stir the mixture and apply to skin, hair and fur, rinsing after 5 minutes. Repeat until the skunk smell is gone.

3. Clean affected washable clothing and fabrics with heavy-duty detergent or a 1-to-1 blend of water and ammonia. Line-dry the clothing, since drying in a dryer makes the skunk odor more difficult to remove if has lingered after the first washing. If the skunk odor remains on the clothes after they're dry, wash and line-dry the clothing again. Continue until no odor remains.

4. Hang clothing that cannot be washed outside, where the sunlight and fresh air will eventually remove the skunk odor.

5. Scrub walls, patios, decks, and other structures or objects outside with a solution of 1 cup chlorine bleach in 1 gallon of warm water. Before cleaning each structure, test an inconspicuous place to ensure the bleach won't discolor it. If there is discoloration, substitute 2 cups of white vinegar for the bleach.

6. Deodorize a yard that a skunk has sprayed in by combining 1 cup of nonfoaming cleaner with 1 gallon of white vinegar, a recipe recommended by Lara Worden, Agriculture Agent for North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Spray the mixture on any foliage, trees or dirt the skunk spray has touched. Worden recommends a backpack garden sprayer for this.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't allow the hydrogen peroxide solution to get into your or your pet's eyes, mouth or nose. The solution can cause burning in these sensitive areas. Tomato juice doesn't actually remove skunk odor, as popular wisdom holds. Instead, it simply masks the scent and the odor returns once the tomato scent wears off.

References

• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
• North Carolina Cooperative Extension
• Humboldt State University